Anybody have a creative way to get a normal nights sleep in your Leaf?

I am too much of a skin flint to get a $50-100 room in some dumpy town to sleep from 11pm to 4:30am when I need to run off to the fishing boat.

So, the front seats don’t recline flat which is a problem for me.If you are over 5’-4” forget about lying in the back seat.Folding down the back seats provides too much of a cliff with the trunk but maybe somebody has tried to retrofit something to simulate a flat surface?Throwing out a sleeping pad and bedding down next to the car is one way of inviting your throat to get cut by some manson-ite. I wont do it. Go ahead, cal me a wuss ).

What I have tried, and suffered with, is placing a box/bucket between the back seat and passenger seat. This allows your body to angle off the back seat to gain you more length. I am sure I can tweak the setup a bit for more comfort but like I wrote, when I did do it, I suffered through the night.

Anybody know of a better way short of forking out $10-20 in a dumpy hotel?

ehunter wrote:Folding down the back seats provides too much of a cliff with the trunk but maybe somebody has tried to retrofit something to simulate a flat surface?

Several people have, for various reasons, put up a plywood "shelf" in the back parcel area to make it level with the top of the charging hump (on pre-2013 models) and folded back seat. A few photos of such have been put in the DIY "Spare Tire" thread.

Nissan even sells a cargo organizer that produces a relatively flat load floor, but as those are made of plastic it probably won't hold up the weight of a person.

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ehunter wrote:Anybody have a creative way to get a normal nights sleep in your Leaf?

I am too much of a skin flint to get a $50-100 room in some dumpy town to sleep from 11pm to 4:30am when I need to run off to the fishing boat.

So, the front seats don’t recline flat which is a problem for me.If you are over 5’-4” forget about lying in the back seat.Folding down the back seats provides too much of a cliff with the trunk but maybe somebody has tried to retrofit something to simulate a flat surface?Throwing out a sleeping pad and bedding down next to the car is one way of inviting your throat to get cut by some manson-ite. I wont do it. Go ahead, cal me a wuss ).

What I have tried, and suffered with, is placing a box/bucket between the back seat and passenger seat. This allows your body to angle off the back seat to gain you more length. I am sure I can tweak the setup a bit for more comfort but like I wrote, when I did do it, I suffered through the night.

Anybody know of a better way short of forking out $10-20 in a dumpy hotel?

I'm like you; I routinely sleep in the back of my Forester on overnight dive and X-C ski trips, so when I looked at the LEAF (and any car I'm considering) a 'will I be able to sleep in it' test was high on the list. You do need either the cargo organizer or a flat homemade panel, or else you can just bring a couple of pillows, bags of foam peanuts etc. and stuff them into the cargo hold until they're approximately level with the floor. I suspect the cargo organizer would be strong enough provided you put your feet and not your head on it, but have never seen one in person to check out how strong it is.

One thing I do to fit in the back of the Forester and stretch out is slide the front seats all the way forward and fold them forward. I also bought the extended armrest which is taller than the basic one, as the extended one is level with the folded back seat. With the front seats slid and folded forward I can rest my head on the armrest (actually on the Thermarest pad that I use). I'm 6'0" so need the extra length to stretch out, and this is far better than having to sleep on a diagonal (and always sliding one way of the other), as I had to in my '88 Subie wagon. I also flip the headrests around on the back seat so they don't stick up, but instead provide support for the pad if I move my head off the armrest while I sleep. From what I recall something similar is possible with the LEAF, and provides similar room. I don't remember if the armrest is high enough or there's an optional one, but pillows can serve to raise it to the right height.

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.